Plus500AU Pty Ltd Financial Services Guide
Financial Services Guide PLUS500AU Pty Ltd ACN 153 301 681 Address: P.O. Box H339, Australia Square, Sydney, NSW, 1215 Website: www.plus500.com.au Support Email: via the Contact us page Australian Financial Services License Number: 417727 Preparation date: 26 January, 2018 Version: 8 1. What is a Financial Services Guide? This Financial Services Guide (FSG) is an important document to help you understand and decide if you wish to use the financial services we are able to offer you. It provides you with information about PLUS500AU Pty Ltd (PLUS500AU, us, our, we) and the services we provide. Its purpose is to educate you, before we provide a financial service, on matters including: who we are and how we can be contacted; what services and products we are authorised to provide to you; how we (and any other relevant parties) are paid; and Who to contact if you have a complaint. Before we issue any particular financial products to you, we will provide you with a Product Disclosure Statement (PDS). The PDS contains information about the product to assist you in making an informed decision about that product. It will outline relevant terms, significant risks (where such exist), and fees and charges associated with the product. We occasionally provide general advice regarding the financial markets or our services. If we provide you with general advice, it may not be appropriate to your needs, financial situation or objectives, and you should consider your circumstances before choosing to proceed with using our products. Additionally, you should obtain and read our Product Disclosure Statement before making a decision. We have arrangements in place to maintain adequate professional indemnity insurance as required by the Corporations Act 2001. This insurance provides cover for claims made against us and our representatives/employees including claims in relation to the conduct of representatives / employees who no longer work for us but who did so at the time of the relevant conduct. PLUS500AU Pty Ltd Financial Services Guide v8 2018/1 1
2. Who will be providing the Financial Services to you? The Licensee PLUS500AU is the holder of an Australian Financial Services License and is responsible, for the financial services that its representatives provide to you. PLUS500AU authorises, and is also responsible for the content and distribution of this FSG. You can instruct us to provide you with our services by contacting us via our online trading platform. Our contact details are at the start of this FSG. If you are located outside of Australia, either the Licensee or one of our Authorised Representatives will provide financial services to you. 3. On whose behalf are we acting when we provide our services to you? As we are the product issuer, we are acting on our own behalf when we provide the services and not on your behalf. 4. What services and products are we authorised to provide to you? We are authorised to give general advice to both retail and wholesale clients in relation to derivatives and foreign exchange contracts. We are also authorised to deal in relation to those same products. This means that we can advise you (without taking into account your personal circumstances) and help you use our trading platforms. We can help you fill out the forms and undertake and complete trades and other related transactions. We are also authorised to make a market for foreign exchange and derivatives contracts. This allows us to quote market prices to you, including buy and sell prices. In providing our service, other financial issues may arise, such as how to invest money, or taxation issues. However, we are not authorised to provide advice relating to those financial issues, or any other issues except those explained above. You should seek specific advice from the appropriate professionals if these issues are relevant to you. PLUS500AU Pty Ltd Financial Services Guide v8 2018/1 2
5. What fees and Charges are payable to us? There are a number of costs, fees and Charges that you may be required to pay us, in order to use our services: Type Spread Cost Description Derivative (including foreign exchange derivative) and contracts-fordifference (CFD) transactions incur costs relating to the spread, which is the difference between the bid price and offer price. The bid price is the price at which we are willing to buy the underlying asset from you and the offer price is the price at which we are willing to sell to you. Taking the example of a foreign currency trade, we buy currency on the wholesale market and sell it to you after building in a spread. We also buy currency from clients and sell it to other clients after building in a spread. The price difference of this spread will depend on factors such as the size and value of the transaction and prevailing market rates. This spread is paid by you, but is incorporated into the quoted rates and is not an additional charge or fee payable by you above those quoted rates. We earn a spread whenever you trade with us. Of course, all buying and selling is notional, because we typically do not actually deliver the currency it offers a platform that lets you trade over currencies only. Sometimes, in order to trade on our platforms, we will convert your money into, say, USD and this is an example of when physical delivery does occur. Example of a spread If we quote 1.31571(bid) and 1.31591 (offer) for EUR/USD on our online platform, then the spread of every lot of EUR/USD is (1.31591-1.31571) x 100,000 (the minimum lot size) = $20 USD. This spread will be deducted from your account balance at the same time that you click buy or sell on the platform. Commission Daily Premium Plus500AU does not charge dealing commissions. You may earn or pay interest, (Premium rate) by entering and holding a CFD contract after a certain time in the day has passed. A funding premium is either added or subtracted to your account to cover the benefit/cost of the associated funding. The Premium Time for each instrument is shown under the details tab on the platform. The premium you earn or pay depends on the type and size of products that you buy or sell, and the duration of the position. To view the funding premium and % per day for a specific instrument, go to the main lobby screen, select the instrument required and press details on the far right of the row. PLUS500AU Pty Ltd Financial Services Guide v8 2018/1 3
We may adjust Premium rates at any time based on market conditions but this will affect only new positions opened after the adjustment. Your account balance will be automatically credited or debited with premium at the daily premium time. Weekends and holidays If a position is opened on a Friday and held overnight until the following Monday (being the next trading day) the amount added or subtracted for the funding premium to an account is three times the daily amount to cover the entire weekend period. Automatic Rollover If a position is opened during a holiday period, the premium will be added or subtracted during that period until you close the position. Instruments based on futures contracts have an expiry date. For most of these instruments, once the expiry date is reached, positions will be automatically rolled over to the next contract. The date and time of the rollover is shown in each instrument s details. Since the buy and sell rates vary between contracts, Plus500 will make an adjustment to your equity for the price difference. This will ensure that your equity doesn t change and you don t gain/lose from the price difference between the old and the new contracts. If the new price is higher than the old price, buy positions will receive a negative adjustment, and sell positions will receive a positive adjustment. However, if the new price is lower than the old price, buy positions will receive a positive adjustment, and sell positions will receive a negative adjustment. In addition, positions may be charged by one spread at the time of rollover. Example of rollover adjustment calculation: You hold a BUY position of 100 contracts of Oil. Oil contract rates at the time of rollover: Existing contract buy rate = $45.30 Existing contract sell rate = $45.25 New contract buy rate = $46.50 New contract sell rate = $46.45 Adjustments calculation: Buy Rate Difference = [New contract sell rate] - [Existing contract sell rate] = $46.45 - $45.25 = $1.2 Buy Value Adjustment = - ([Amount of Contracts] * [Buy Rate Difference]) = - (100 * $1.2) = - $120 Spread Adjustment = [Amount of Contracts] * [New Contract Spread] = 100 * (46.50$-46.45$) = $5 Buy Total Adjustment = [Buy Value Adjustment] - [Spread Adjustment] = - $120 - $5 = - $125 PLUS500AU Pty Ltd Financial Services Guide v8 2018/1 4
Summary: You will continue to hold the same position of 100 contracts of Oil. You will get an adjustment of -$125. Your equity remains the same excluding the $5 spread. Guaranteed Stop Certain instruments allow for a Guaranteed Stop which guarantees that a position will be closed out at exactly the price specified with no risk of slippage. A Guaranteed Stop can only be placed on new trades for certain specified instruments, can be activated and edited only when there is trading and once activated cannot be removed - only the price can be changed. A fee applies to a Guaranteed Stop which will be subtracted from your account. This fee is non-refundable once the Guaranteed Stop is activated and is as follows: X % of the spread (roundup) To view the actual percentage for a specific instrument go to the main lobby screen, select the instrument required and press details on the far right of the row. Example: Google $500/$502 -> spread is $2. The guaranteed stop on shares is 50%, If you buy 10 shares of Google the Guaranteed Stop fee will be: 50% * 10 * (502-500) = $10. Conversion cost Your account balance is always denominated in Australian dollars (AUD), unless you have specified you wish to maintain your balance in another (home) currency, e.g. if you are from New Zealand, your defined (home) currency will be NZD. When you trade we convert the asset currency into your own currency with the rate available in the currency pair in our trading platform. When: 1. Close Position - we will convert the net profit and loss (P&L) to your own currency at the moment the position is closed - until then the position P&L is valued in its asset currency. 2. Open Position - we will convert the Initial Margin and Maintenance Margin to your base currency at the time when the position is opened. Example of conversion: Your balance is 100 AUD. You open a 500 EUR VodaFone position and make a net loss of -10 EUR. VodaFone: Initial Margin 10%, Maintenance Margin 2%. In our platform EUR/AUD pair is quoted: 1.2562/1.2572 Initial Margin = 500 EUR * 0.1 * 1.2572 = 62.86 AUD PLUS500AU Pty Ltd Financial Services Guide v8 2018/1 5
Maintenance Margin = 500 EUR * 0.02 * 1.2572 = 12.57 AUD These margins won t change for this position even if rates change. Net loss = -10 EUR * 1.2572 = -12.57 AUD Your new balance: 100 AUD - 12.on7 AUD = 87.43 AUD Reimbursement Interest on client money Credit card payment Withdrawal Plus500AU does not have a fee reimbursement mechanism. We place client moneys into our Segregated Funds Account which is a client trust account. We are entitled to earn any interest (which is calculated daily) on positive balances in the client trust account and do not pay it on to clients. We will not charge you a fee for accepting a credit card payment from you. All account withdrawal requests are subject to a minimum withdrawal amount. The minimum withdrawal amount for PayPal and Skrill is $50USD (or equivalent). The minimum withdrawal amount for bank transfers and credit cards is $100USD (or equivalent). Processing a withdrawal request of less than the minimum withdrawal amount will incur a fee of $10USD (or equivalent). Where you wish to close your account and have funds remaining, please note that funds returned via Credit Card (where your Credit Card is refundable) do not incur an additional fee (or the fee is minimal and will be absorbed by Plus500AU in these instances). However, where funds are returned via other methods (e.g. Bank Transfer, PayPal, etc.) a fee of $10USD (or equivalent) will be charged to your trading account. Inactivity Fee Fees may be payable by you by virtue of the fact that the Trading Platform is continually provided to you for trading in CFD s, regardless of your actual use. If there are no transactions on your account for a period of at least three months, your account will be subject to an Inactivity Fee in return for the provision of administrative and information services and the continued availability of your account on the Trading Platform. You can pay our Inactivity Fees as agreed with you from time to time or we may deduct such Fees from any funds held by us on your behalf. The Inactivity Fee will be equal to the lesser of the remaining balance in your account or $10USD, levied quarterly and in the currency of your account. Upon assessment of the Inactivity Fee your account may also be closed. By using or continuing to use our services, you agree that: All fees and charges received by us as described in this FSG (other than third party fees and charges) are a benefit given to us by you, in exchange for the market making and dealing services provided by us. We do not charge volume-based or asset-based fees for any advice we provide. You understand, consent to, authorise and direct us to charge you in this way. PLUS500AU Pty Ltd Financial Services Guide v8 2018/1 6
You may request more details about the way we are remunerated within a reasonable time after receiving this document. 6. How are our people and third parties remunerated? Our directors and its employees are remunerated by annual salary and may also be awarded an annual bonus. These types of remuneration will depend on several factors including: company performance; sales volume; professionalism and adherence to compliance procedures; and team performance. Our shareholders will also receive a benefit based on our ongoing company performance. When you are referred by another third party to us, we may pay a commission to the third party or Authorised Representative of up to 80% of the Spread Cost (see above) generated from your trading. The amount of commission paid to referrers is negotiated on an individual basis and is typically based on a sliding scale, which takes into account a one-time fee or the number of clients referred or introduced to us; and The number of contracts traded by clients introduced or referred to us. You may request more details about the way these people or entities are remunerated within a reasonable time after receiving this document. 7. What should you do if you have a complaint? If you have a query regarding your account or your dealings with Plus500AU Pty Ltd, you should initially notify our Customer Support Team as soon as reasonably practicable by: Contacting us through our "Contact Us" page on our Website. Writing to Plus500AU Pty Ltd., P.O. Box H339, Australia Square, Sydney NSW 1215 To help us investigate and resolve your query quickly and efficiently, we ask that you provide as much information as possible, including the following: Your name, trading account number and contact details; A clear description of your query; Copies of relevant documents. Most queries can be resolved within 24 hours. If your query requires further investigation, we will contact you within 5 business days of the initial query to advise you of the progress. PLUS500AU Pty Ltd Financial Services Guide v8 2018/1 7
Complaints Where the initial query is not resolved to your satisfaction or if you wish to make a complaint, you should notify our Customer Support Team by: Contacting us through our "Contact Us" page on our Website. Writing to Plus500AU Pty Ltd., P.O. Box H339, Australia Square, Sydney NSW 1215 To help us investigate and resolve your complaint quickly and efficiently, we ask that you provide as much information as possible about the nature of your complaint, including the following: Your name, trading account number and contact details; Copies of relevant documents; and Details of what you would like us to do to put things right Following the registration of the complaint, a written acknowledgement of receipt will be sent to you, the complainant immediately or as soon as practicable. The letter will inform you that we will attempt to resolve the complaint within 45 days. The letter will outline the dispute resolution process and the availability of FOS", including relevant contact and membership details, should the matter not be resolved to the person s satisfaction. In investigating your complaint, we will take into account the subject matter of your complaint, the evidence you have provided, the evidence on our records and relevant guidance from our regulators ASIC, AUSTRAC and from FOS. Each complaint received by Plus500AU is handled case-by-case and the applicable actions or remedies will vary due to the unique circumstances of each case. We will notify you of any delays in the investigation process and update you on the status of your complaint until such time as our investigation is complete. In the unlikely event that we are unable to resolve your complaint within 45 days of receiving it, we will contact you in writing to: Explain why we are not in a position to issue a final response to your complaint and to provide an indication of when we expect to be able to provide one; Inform you that you may refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) and provide you with information on how to contact FOS. If the complaint cannot be resolved to your satisfaction you have the right to refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) which is an external complaints service, of which PLUS500AU is a member: #31478 You can contact FOS on 1300 780 808 (if in Australia) or +613 9613 7366 (if outside Australia) or in writing at GPO Box 3, Melbourne, Victoria 3001, Australia. You can also contact FOS through their website: www.fos.org.au. PLUS500AU Pty Ltd Financial Services Guide v8 2018/1 8
Privacy Statement Plus500AU Pty Ltd (Plus500AU) is committed to ensuring the confidentiality and security of your personal information. Plus500AU will be collecting personal information from you when you apply to open a trading account, visit our website, call us or send us correspondence. If you do not provide the personal information requested by us, we may not be able to open your trading account, or provide you with the full benefit of our services. We collect your personal information: to conduct our business of providing services in relation to foreign exchange and derivatives contracts to our clients and to counter-parties; to provide you with information about our services and promotions; protect our business and clients from fraudulent or unlawful activity; to assess applications by you for our services; to investigate and resolve any concerns or complaints you may have; to manage any legal actions involving Plus500AU; to collect and analyse statistical information regarding the number of visitors to our website and our online trading platform; to comply with our legal obligations, including our obligations to collect certain information under the Corporations Act 2001 and Anti-Money Laundering and Counter- Terrorism Financing Act 2006; and to help us manage and enhance our services. We may need to disclose your personal information to: a related company of Plus500AU; your introducing broker; an agent, contractor or service provider we engage to carry out our functions and activities, such as our lawyers, accountants, or counter-parties; organisations involved in a transfer or sale of all or part of our assets or business; organisations involved in managing our payments, payment merchants and other financial institutions such as banks; regulatory bodies, government agencies, law enforcement bodies and courts, such as the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre; and anyone else to whom you authorise us to disclose it, or as required by law. We are likely to disclose your personal information to related entities and data storage service providers that are located outside Australia. These recipients are located in Israel, Bulgaria and the United Kingdom. Our Privacy Policy (available at www.plus500.com.au) contains information about our information access, correction and complaints procedures. We may record inbound and outbound telephone conversations to the PLUS500AU office for compliance and training purposes. Please retain this FSG for your reference and any future dealings with us. We may also add documents at a later date which will form part of this FSG, and should be read together with it. They will include the word FSG in the heading. PLUS500AU Pty Ltd Financial Services Guide v8 2018/1 9
Plus500AU Pty Ltd, ACN 153 301 681, is the issuer of the financial products described in this communication. Any advice provided is general in nature only and it doesn t consider your objectives, financial situation or needs. Download a PDS from our website for more information. You should consider it before making a decision to acquire or continue to hold our products. Trading with us involves risks Click here to see our full risk warning. Our AFSL (#417727) authorises us to provide our services to people in Australia. PLUS500AU Pty Ltd Financial Services Guide v8 2018/1 10
Plus500AU Pty. Ltd. P.O. Box H339, Australia Square Sydney NSW 1215 PLUS500AU Pty Ltd Financial Services Guide v8 2018/1 11